The 2012 Campus Computing Survey / Survey Deadline is Wed, Oct 24th

Dear Colleagues,

This note to the CIO ListServe follows the kind comments about The Campus Computing Survey posted earlier this month by Theresa Rowe, Thomas Carnwath, and Robert Patterson (see below).

The survey deadline is Wednesday, October 24th. The hardest part of this work is not the data analysis: rather, is it the long wait wondering how many institutions will participate in the annual survey.

Launched in 1990 as the "EDUCOM-USC Survey," The Campus Computing Project is the largest continuing study of the role of eLearning and information technology in American higher education. The project was designed to provide timely data, information and insight about a range of critical IT planning and policy issues to campus officials across all sectors of American higher education.

The value and validity of the survey really do depend on the CIOs and other senior campus IT officers who participate in the annual survey.

The email invitation for the 2012 survey was first sent late in September to the CIOs and other senior campus IT officers at some 2300 public and private two- and four-year US colleges and universities. And yes, I have been sending (spamming?) you reminder emails about the survey for the past two weeks. The results of the 2012 Campus Computing Survey will be presented at the EDUCAUSE conference on Wednesday afternoon, November 7th. (Please CLICK HERE for summary materials from the 2011 survey._

Over the years many CIOs have asked me if the Campus Computing Survey duplicates the work of The EDUCAUSE Core Data Survey. The answer is no: there is little overlap on the survey items. Rather, the Campus Computing serves to complement and supplement the financial, ERP, personnel, and networking data that has been the focus of Core Data. Indeed, many CIOs tell me that they only participate in the Campus Computing and Core Data surveys.

I hope you will plan to participate in the survey. And please contact me if, by chance, you did not receive or may have lost (or possibly even trashed) the email invitation for the 2012 survey.

Finally, my thanks to all who have participated in the annual Campus Computing Survey in past years and also 2012, who have started (but yet to complete) this year's questionnaire, and who have been planning to complete the 2012 survey ahead of Wednesday's deadline.

Comments

As the former CIO at UC Berkeley and someone not directly affiliated with either Educause or Campus Computing Survey, I appreciate the history and work that Casey has done. I would also suggest a real assessment to consider the benefits of your participation of the Educause Core Data Survey. The extensive enhancements (and evolution) of Core Data Survey as requested by the community has created an extremely robust collection and reporting tools for community use. The data is owned by the community and shared with the community through your Educause membership and provides critical information to each of our communities, including institutional use for small, medium and large institutions, but equally important really inform activities on the policy at the local, state and national level regarding education. This will become increasingly important with the next major renewal cycle of the Higher Education Opportunity Act in 2013 (HEOA) and our communal advocacy in that effort. If your institution is not currently participating in Core Data, please consider both your local need and the substantial community benefit in doing so.

I’ve just submitted final responses for the 2012 Campus Computing Survey for the University of San Diego.

I’ll just take a moment to encourage my CIO colleagues to complete this important survey. I’ve always found it relatively easy to complete; the analysis is
enlightening and helps in seeing where USD stands relative to peer institutions. Casey, we owe you a great debt of gratitude for your tireless work with the Campus Computing Project! Hope to see you in Denver.

I'd like to second Shel's post. Many times we post questions to the list asking our peers how they handle some specific technology or the state of some implementation. I try to review the material in Core Data and the Campus Computing Survey first, to give me a strong foundation on data across institutions. Then asking our peers on the list becomes a focus group providing insight to those results.

Tom Peters, the writer about business practices, has an interesting quote about benchmarking:"... I hate Benchmarking! Benchmarking is Stupid! Why is it stupid?
Because we pick the current industry leader and then we launch a five
year program, the goal of which is to be as good as whoever was best
five years ago, five years from now."

Now that might sound like a statement against benchmarking surveys, but it provides insight into how we can do it better, and we do it better in our higher ed community. We combine our surveys with community review, in-depth analytical reports, presentations, and discussions. We don't just look at the "ooh indicators" and go target shooting. Our participation in these surveys provides insight and knowledge that enable us all to do our jobs better today.

With Educause coming up, I'd like to point out events that may interest you.

Based on feedback from the Top 10 Issues discussion this summer, I've asked Susan Grajek of Educause to come to the CIO session on Tuesday at 2 PM to talk for a few minutes about Core Data. Also, you will see from the schedule that much work has been put into reporting.

Other conference sessions of interest:

Tuesday -Seminar 10A Making the Case for IT: How to Effectively Use Core Data Metrics and Benchmarking (separate registration)

Wednesday -10:30 Core Data Service 2012 Results
3:20 For International Participants: Informational Session on the Core Data Service3:40 Campus Computing 2012: The National Survey of Computing and Information Technology..4:30 Educause Core Data Service Reporting Tool Demo
5:15 Meet ECAR and Core Data Service Staff (talk to them about what you'd like to see!)

This note to the CIO ListServe follows the kind comments about The Campus Computing Survey posted earlier this month by Theresa Rowe, Thomas Carnwath, and Robert Patterson (see below).

The survey deadline is Wednesday, October 24th. The hardest part of this work is not the data analysis: rather, is it the long wait wondering how many institutions will participate in the annual survey.

Launched in 1990 as the "EDUCOM-USC Survey," The Campus Computing Project is the largest continuing study of the role of eLearning and information technology in American higher education. The project was designed to provide timely data, information and insight about a range of critical IT planning and policy issues to campus officials across all sectors of American higher education.

The value and validity of the survey really do depend on the CIOs and other senior campus IT officers who participate in the annual survey.

The email invitation for the 2012 survey was first sent late in September to the CIOs and other senior campus IT officers at some 2300 public and private two- and four-year US colleges and universities. And yes, I have been sending (spamming?) you reminder emails about the survey for the past two weeks. The results of the 2012 Campus Computing Survey will be presented at the EDUCAUSE conference on Wednesday afternoon, November 7th. (Please CLICK HERE for summary materials from the 2011 survey._

Over the years many CIOs have asked me if the Campus Computing Survey duplicates the work of The EDUCAUSE Core Data Survey. The answer is no: there is little overlap on the survey items. Rather, the Campus Computing serves to complement and supplement the financial, ERP, personnel, and networking data that has been the focus of Core Data. Indeed, many CIOs tell me that they only participate in the Campus Computing and Core Data surveys.

I hope you will plan to participate in the survey. And please contact me if, by chance, you did not receive or may have lost (or possibly even trashed) the email invitation for the 2012 survey.

Finally, my thanks to all who have participated in the annual Campus Computing Survey in past years and also 2012, who have started (but yet to complete) this year's questionnaire, and who have been planning to complete the 2012 survey ahead of Wednesday's deadline.